Current legislation governing the management of information in organizations:
- Electronic Communications and Transactions Act
- National Archives and Records Service of SA Act
- Protection of Personal Information Act
- Promotion of Access to Information Act
- The new Companies Act
- The King III Code of Corporate Governance
- Other relevant regulations and guidelines in the public and private sector
Identifying the types & characteristics of information resources to which the legislation applies:
Defining the steps for developing an EDRM policy in your organization:
- Classification
- Appraisal
- Retention
- Disposal management
Examining & quantifying the potential benefits and business case for designing and implementing a records management framework:
- Accountability and transparency
- Relevance of document retention and data integrity
- Systems efficiency and cost reduction
- Integration of data
- Streamlined business processes for accessing and storing data
Development of Effective DRM Policies & Procedures
Determine the essential elements of your DRM policies & procedures document:
- Scope and aims of the policy
- Records management principles and approach
- Responsibilities of record management
- Resources and systems
- Records retention and disposal
- Classification design
- Protection and access of data
- Disaster recovery
- Monitoring and measurement
- Standard procedures
Evaluate the management of different types of documents:
- Paper records
- Born-digital Electronic documents
- Images
Determine the infrastructure & technology resources required to actively manage your records management system:
- Assess the needs of each department
- Evaluate the appropriate technology to capture and preserve all electronic and business documents
- Analyse your current Information systems and technology
- Examine the criteria for identifying and selecting an appropriate DRM system:
- Functionality of the system
- Alignment with your organisation’s infrastructure
- Upgrading current systems
Analyse effective roll-out methods & adoption for efficient application by all users:
- Deployment of policies
- Security considerations
- Communication policy to promote your policies
Change Management requirements & Planning
Identifying what needs to change in your organization in order to ensure the highest level of success in managing your business documents & records:
Planning your change management strategy:
- Consulting the Customer and Employee
- Stakeholder analysis
- Regular information sessions
- Promoting participation in the process
- Gather feedback to ensure continuous improvement
Defining the appropriate mechanisms for driving forward a change management process that will overcome the fears of implementing a records management programme & systems & get buying at all levels by using a:
- top-down approach to create a culture of leadership and ownership of the process
- bottom-up approach to sustain the readiness and capacity for the change in adopting your DRM initiative
- Aligning the goals of each business unit with your overall business objectives in order to drive your DRM and business performance
- Promoting an awareness among your internal and external users by effectively communicating the benefits of your DRM system
- Creating and communicating a shared vision, mission and core values to drive forward your DRM process and improve overall information and records management compliance and performance
- Successfully overcoming the internal resistance obstacles to your DRM policy by cascading your DRM system down to all your business units
- Applying the appropriate reporting processes for effectively implementing and maintaining your DRM system
Roles & Responsibilities
Analysing the capabilities, functions & responsibilities of your managers & users who are required to plan, implement & manage your DRM system:
- Ensure that the DRM policies and procedures and internal controls are executed responsibly
- Maintain effective, efficient and economic utilisation of all resources to ensure sound records management
- Safeguard business records against loss and damage
- Promote the effective capture and storage of all records
- Understanding the general responsibilities of the Chief Information Officer (CIO) and IT department in assessing potential risks and achieving efficient records management practice
- Evaluating the appropriate training and support programmes for all stakeholders in optimizing the effective functionality of your DRM system
- Obtaining buy-in from all staff and overcoming communication barriers to ensure an efficient DRM system
- Ensuring that your DRM policies are aligned to your organizational policies and procedures
- Assess the appropriate technologies for ensuring an uninterrupted flow of business operation and data retrieval
- Identify the critical records that are required to continue business operations in the event of a disaster
- Create a disaster recovery team who is well prepared in implementing and managing your disaster recovery programme
Quality, Integrity & Security Measures
- Determining the reliability and quality of your EDRM infrastructure and system
- Defining the link between various business units to support the efficiency of your records management process
- Examining the various South African National (SANS) and international (ISO) standards, to achieve best practice in reliability, integrity and authenticity of electronically stored information
- Creating internal versus external benchmarks as effective measurement mechanisms to accurately track the progress of your records management system
- Identifying where the potential risks exist in your EDRM system
- Undertaking the appropriate steps to preserving the integrity and protection of all documents
- Adopting compliance monitoring and inspections for effectively managing the lifecycle of your documents
- Conducting regular policy reviews and assessments of your EDRM system to establish the effectiveness of the process in line with changes in legislation or business processes